Battle Lost
by Juu
Summary: Another one of my older stories I dug up. Remember how Vegeta almost killed Goku when they first battled, but Krillin and Gohan came and saved him? Well, what if Vegeta was the winner? Krillin and Gohan are the only ones to protect Earth now, but Veget
1. Devestation

**** Battle Lost   
  


By Juu   
  


CHAPTER ONE   
  


DEVASTATION   
  


Vegeta fired a blast at the artificial moon in the sky. Now that Kakarott was dead, there was no need to stay in that ugly transformed state. Slowly, Vegeta's fur shrank and disappeared and he returned to his original size. Smirking, Vegeta curled his hand into a fist. True, the battle had been difficult, and Vegeta was more than a little sore, but he had **won. **

**"**Now....." Vegeta said to himself. He smirked as he sensed two power levels rapidly approaching him. It was Kakarott's friends. Vegeta laughed silently. He had almost forgotten about those two. Well, they were in for a surprise. 

Vegeta walked over to a large boulder and settled himself behind it. He sat silently as two powers grew closer............... 

**************************************************************************************   
  


Gohan and Krillin flew quickly side by side. They had both sensed Goku's power level fading and had immediately turned towards the battlefield. Krillin looked over at Gohan. The young warrior's face was set in a concerned expression. 

Krillin suppressed a sigh. He desperatly hoped Goku was all right, not just because the earth Saiyan was his best friend , but also for Gohan's sake. The poor kid was barley five years old, had been taken away from his family, and been left in the desert for six months. Then he comes to his very first battle; watches four of his allies be murdered, one of whom his mentor; then watches as his dad he just reunited with goes into another fight. 

Krillin gritted his teeth in anger. He'd already lost three of his friends to this.........this creature. Goku had been their last hope. If he'd been defeated............ 

Finally, the rocky area where Saiyan had fought Saiyan came into view. Signs of the battle were clearly visible; craters and ruined cliffs as well as scortch marks on the ground decorated the area; but the fighting appeared to have stopped. This was not a good sign in Krillin's eyes. 

Krillin strained as hard as he could to sense Goku's power level but he couldn't. He swallowed hard and tried not to make it sound like a gulp. He didn't want Gohan to know something was wrong. He quickly turned to the little boy. 

"Gohan?" He said in a stern voice. Gohan stopped scanning the area and looked at the older warrior. 

Krillin continued. "You stay here. I'm going to go check on Goku. All right?" 

Gohan shuddered. "But what if that guy's still around?" 

Krillin was quiet. The kid had a point. He really didn't want Gohan to be there if Goku was..............But what if he was right and Vegeta saw the poor kid? Krillin knew he would never forgive himself if he left Gohan alone and something happened to him. 

"All right," Krillin said finally. "Come on." 

Krillin and Gohan landed and looked around. Krillin knew immediatly that something was wrong. It was too quiet. 

"Stay close," Krillin whispered to Gohan. 

*This isn't good. I still can't feel Goku's power. I hope that-* Krillin's thoughts were interrupted as the two warriors passed a small hill. There, lying on the ground, was the badly mangled body of Goku. Krillin quickly turned to keep Gohan fro seeing but it was too late. 

"Daddy!" Gohan burst into tears and ran over to his father. He stared at him, tears streaming down his face, so stunned he couldn't speak. Krillin pushed his own emotions aside and placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan looked up at him, his eyes shining with tears, then flung himself onto the surprised earthling and began sobbing. 

"Aw, how very touching." 

Krillin and Gohan spun around. There stood Vegeta, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Krillin hastily took a fighting stance. He stepped in front of Gohan who wiped his tears away and also took a stance. 

Vegeta laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you two. Not yet anyway." The Saiyan prince laughed again at Krillin and Gohan's surprised faces. 

"No, I have something even better in store for you." Vegeta reached into his armor and pulled out a small remote control. Krillin and Gohan tensed as Vegeta hit a few of the keys. Then he placed in back where he had got it from. 

Laughing, Vegeta took a step closer towards Krillin and Gohan. Krillin stood directly in front of Gohan. This made Vegeta laugh even harder. 

"Oh, trying to play the hero? Well, I don't suggest you get in my way." 

Krillin didn't move. Vegeta moved closer. He was now standing menacingly above them. He glared down at them, then took a step back. 

"Know why I'm sparing your pathetic lives?" Vegeta continued without waiting for a response. "Because people will pay good money for slaves like you." 

Gohan's eyes widened. "S......slaves?" He whispered, his voice shaking. Vegeta's smile widened. 

"That's right kiddo." Just then, two Saiyan space pods; the ones Vegeta and Nappa had come to earth in; landed gently on the ground. Their doors opened and once again Vegeta moved forward. Krillin and Gohan stepped backwards. 

"Gohan, run. Now!" Krillin commanded. Gohan turned on his heel and ran. Krillin followed but Vegeta was too fast for them. He grabbed both Krillin and Gohan by the back of their uniforms, dragged them over to Nappa's space pod, and threw them in. Before they had a chance to respond, the door closed, trapping them inside. 

Ignoring Krillin and Gohan's cries, Vegeta walked over to his own pod and sat down inside. The door closed as the Saiyan typed in the proper coordinates. Before Krillin and Gohan knew what was going on, the ships had blasted off and were heading far from earth..... 


	2. The Slave Trade

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter two 

The Slave Trade   
  


Krillin and Gohan looked out of the tiny window of the space pod. They both gasped as earth grew farther and farther away. 

"Oh no....." Krillin whispered as he glanced at Gohan. The little boy was extremely pale and his eyes were wide with shock. He stared at the fading planet for a minute longer, then he shook his head as if to shake off a daydream. Then he looked at Krillin and said calmly, "What now?" 

Krillin looked away. "To be honest, I really don't know, Gohan. We can't bust out of this thing. Not unless we want to die in space." 

Krillin sat back. Nappa had been a big person so there was plenty of room. Gohan continued to watch out the window. The stars and planets whizzed by at a tremendous speed and soon the two pods were out of the earth's solar system. 

After awhile, Gohan sat down beside Krillin and fell asleep from pure exhaustion. 

Krillin, however, stayed awake. His mind was cluttered with thoughts. How were they going to get out of this? This was all new to him; Goku had never lost a battle. Krillin thought about fighting Vegeta whenever they landed, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head. He knew it would do no good. 

Krillin sighed and began to think about what lay ahead. He had no idea where Vegeta was taking them. Krillin sighed again and eventually fell asleep beside Gohan. 

************************************************************************************** 

"I'm hungry, Krillin." Krillin jerked awake. He looked beside him, where Gohan sat. The little boy was gazing up at him holding his stomach bashfully. 

"I know Gohan. But there isn't a lot we can do about it right now." Krillin managed to give Gohan a small smile. Gohan removed his hands from his belly and rubbed his eyes. It was apparent that he had just woken up, and judging by the noise his stomach was making, Krillin guessed he'd woken up from hunger. 

"How long have we been in here, Krillin? It feels like forever...." Gohan peered out at the passing stars. "I need to stretch really bad." 

"I know how you feel Gohan, but believe it or not, we've only been in here for around three days, if I can keep time at all." Gohan made a face. 

"Just three days!!? Gosh.....I wish daddy was here. And Mr. Piccolo...." 

"I know Gohan..." Sighing, Krillin leaned against the side of the pod. He was totally out of ideas and he figured that Gohan and him were probably better off dead at the moment. 

Suddenly, Gohan pointed at the window. 

"Look, Krillin!" A small yellowish brown planet was quickly coming into view. "It looks like we're going towards it." 

The planet grew closer, but the pod was indeed slowing down. The small ship shook a bit as they passed through the planets atmosphere. Pretty soon, it didn't feel like the pod was flying as much as it was falling. 

"Hold on, Gohan!" Krillin cried. Moments later, the pod struck something strong and cushion like and then stopped moving altogether. 

Gohan and Krillin looked at each other. 

"We should get ready. We'll probably have to fight as soon as we get out of here," Gohan whispered. Krillin nodded wordlessly. The two of them tensed up as the door hissed and opened. They saw Vegeta talking to some odd looking creatures in Saiyan armor. 

Suddenly, two large, powerful creatures reached into the pod, yanked Gohan out and clasped a strange device around his wrists. 

"Hey!!" Krillin leapt out of the pod and tried to get over to Gohan, but he was grabbed from behind and his arms were pinned to his back. He felt something encircle his wrists. He looked at Gohan. The half human had an extremely angry look on his face as his captors pushed him around. The boy kicked at one of them, but only succeeded on falling flat on his butt. 

Krillin grew angry and tried to break the device around his wrists, something he figured would be no problem. But all at once a powerful electrical charge coursed through his body. Pain overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees. His captors laughed at him. 

"I wouldn't try that again," said one of them, a green reptile like being with scales and gills. "Those cuffs are made of an extremely strong metal and are designed to shock you if it feels any type of resistence. The more you resist, the more powerful the shock. Those things'll kill ya if you're not careful." 

"Leave my friend alone, you big jerks!!" Gohan yelled. The two goons started picking on Gohan again, poking at him and pulling at his hair. Gohan could do nothing but growl angrily. Krillin pulled on the cuffs again, but was met with another shock. Fuming, he looked over to where Vegeta was. The creatures in the Saiyan armor handed Vegeta some kind of currency, and then walked off again without a second look back. Krillin watched them go. One of them was a big, fat, ugly pink thing that looked kind of like a blow fish. He seemed to almost reek of evil that was as ugly as he was. 

The other looked more human. He was dressed also in Saiyan armor, but wore thigh high boots rather that the short ones Vegeta wore. His face was soft, almost feminine looking, and was framed by a braid of bright green hair. Krillin didn't care who they were anymore than they cared who he was. 

Vegeta walked over to Krillin and Gohan. When the two guards saw Vegeta coming, they immediately stopped shoving Gohan and stood up straight. 

"Enough," Vegeta growled. " I need to get these two down to inspection." The arrogant Saiyan turned and began to walk. The green guard and the other one, a four-eyed, yellow creature, reached into their hip holsters and pulled out strange looking weapons. The yellow guard grabbed Gohan's upper arm and pulled him along, following Vegeta. The small child tried to pull away, but the cuffs sensed the resistance and gave him the same treatment Krillin had received. 

Meanwhile, the green guard put one hand roughly on Krillin's shoulder and used to other to shove the barrel of the weapon into Krillin's back. 

"Let's go," the guard hissed as it shoved the earth warrior forward. "And don't try anything or I'll vaporize ya." 

Vegeta led the guards and warriors into the building in front of them and through a series of dark hallways. Every now and then, the screams of those being tormented echoed in Krillin and Gohan's ears. Gohan cringed every time he heard them. 

The group passed a room that, unlike the other rooms they had passed, had its doors ajar. Gohan peeked in as the group walked by. Inside, a large crowd of aliens were gathered around a large, raised platform. On one side of the platform, a frightened young female alien stood, visibly shaking. On the other side, a strange bird like creature sat on a stool. It kept gesturing at the girl and was talking very quickly in a language neither Krillin or Gohan could understand. 

When Krillin passed the doorway, the girl caught his eye and Krillin slowed down. 

"Keep moving!" The green guard said gruffly as he shoved the earthling hard. 

Finally, they reached a door at the end of the hallway. Vegeta walked to it. 

"Keep them here. I'll be back in a minute. Can you handle that?" The Saiyan prince snapped. 

"Yes sir," the guards said in unison. Vegeta nodded, then opened the door and went inside the room. Krillin quickly tried to think of something to do. He knew that he and Gohan were in way over their heads. He was about ready to see if he could attack the guards when the door opened again and Vegeta walked back out. Behind him was a strange looking being. It was short and stout, with a face that was all scrunched up, as if someone had smashed it. Two beady black eyes peeked out from behind enormous eye glasses. It seemed to grow excited as its eyes rested on Krillin and Gohan. 

The guards shoved Gohan and Krillin forward. The weird being scurried forwards and walked around the two of them, chattering to itself. 

"So, what have you brought me, Lord Vegeta?" The thing asked. Its voice was a bit high pitched and sounded constantly nervous. 

"The kid is Saiyan; or at lease part of him is," Vegeta said shortly as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed/ 

"Ooooo......." The creature hummed excitedly. It hobbled over to Gohan and began to look him over. It looked in both of his ears and eyes, then walked around him again, eyeing the annoyed child up and down. 

"The boy is young, Lord Vegeta," the being said finally. "His mind is still developing. It is possible that you could train him to be a part of your army. You could make him an ally, Lord." 

"And why would I want to do that?" Vegeta snapped. The creature flinched but continued anyway. 

"You said he showed great power, yes? Well, sire, it is odd for a child of his age to have the kind of power you described. If you could harness it, and get him on your side, then it could prove to be quite useful. Of course, adaptations to his memory would be necessary, but with the boy being so young, it shouldn't be a problem." 

Gohan snarled. He didn't like where this was going. Vegeta smiled thoughtfully. "Maybe....." He said. 

The odd being hobbled over to Krillin. "What of this one, sire? Where is it from?" 

"Oh, that one?" Vegeta spat. "'Just an earthling." Vegeta said with disgust. The creature, however, seemed perplexed. 

"Earrrrrrrth-ling..." It said slowly, drawing out the word. "Never seen an earth-ling before. First one ever..." The creature looked Krillin over as he had with Gohan. Then it looked up at Vegeta, who seemed preoccupied. 

"Excuse me sir? Would you mind if I kept it to study it? May I keep the earth-ling?" It asked timidly. 

"Huh? Oh, yes go ahead. I don't care what you do with him." Vegeta stood up straight. "You two!" He barked at the guards who were standing idly. 

"Yes sir!" They said in unison once again. 

"Take the kid to the memory extraction chamber. I want the kid's help when I go to the planet Namek." 

Krillin started. He had almost forgotten about Namek. He had heard Vegeta and Nappa talking about more dragon balls being on Piccolo's home planet, Namek. If Vegeta got there first and made a wish on the Namekian dragon balls, then the universe would be in great danger. 

Suddenly the two guards rushed at Gohan and began dragging him away. 

"Stop it!! Leave me alone you morons!!" Gohan shouted angrily. 

"Let him go!" Krillin yelled. He tried to run after his friend, but Vegeta grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Krillin pulled himself up and braced himself up against the wall. He tried again to pull out of his restraints, much harder this time. The punishment was harsh, and left Krillin dizzy. Vegeta yanked him to his feet. 

"Fool." Vegeta glared into Krillin's eyes. Krillin glared back. 

"Coward," Krillin said quietly. Vegeta smirked, and Krillin felt something stick him in the back. He felt coldness spread through him and then his vision grew black. 


	3. The Memory Extraction Chamber

Battle Lost 

Chapter three   
  


The Memory Extraction Chamber   
  


Gohan struggled vainly against his captors, ignoring the powerful shocks the cuffs gave him. The two guards dragging him down the hallway ignored his struggles and continued to pull him along. 

"Let me go!!" Gohan commanded. "Let me go or you'll be sorry!!!!!!!" 

"Quiet kid, if you know what's good for you," snickered the green guard. Gohan tried to stop himself with his feet, but the hallway was too slick to provide any good source of resistance. Gohan yelled again in anger. He narrowed his eyes, frustrated, and turned his head toward's the yellow guard. Gohan noticed that the guard's hand was close enough..... 

"Yeow!!!!!" The guard cried out in pain as Gohan sank his teeth into the yellow guard's hand. Nearly retching from the awful taste, Gohan spat repeatedly. 

"Little rat bit me!!" The yellow guard whined. Gohan was disappointed. Regardless of Gohan's little assault, neither of the guards had released their grip on the half-Saiyan's arms. 

"Yuck!" Gohan made a face. The yellow guard noticed. 

"Stupid little brat!" With that, the guard back handed the tiny child across the face, nearly knocking the poor kid senseless. Smirking, the guards continued to pull him down the hallway. 

After awhile longer, they reached their destination, a large metal door that was set in the wall. The green guard held both of Gohan's arms while the yellow guard pushed the door open, obviously straining at the weight. Inside, was a large dome shaped room. Machines with bright, flashing buttons were set up all along the walls of the room, and near the center was a raised restraining bed. Above it, coming off from one of the nearby machines, was an attachment that looked sort of like a dentist's drill that Gohan had seen on Earth. Upon seeing the bed and that weird machine, Gohan tried to shrink back. 

Both guard's grabbed him roughly and began pulling him towards the restraint bed. 

"No!! I....don't......want......you to screw around with my head!!!" Gohan screamed. Both guards laughed. They hoisted the kicking child up onto the bed, very briefly removed the cuffs, and strapped his arms and legs down. After making sure that the young warrior was secured to the table, the guards left the room, chuckling to themselves. 

Once they were gone, Gohan tried to power up, but received a powerful jolt of electricity. The table had the same kind of anti-resistance device that the cuffs had. Gohan growled under his breath and tried again. This time the shock was more powerful. Gohan cried out in anger. 

Outside the room, a lab technician was typing commands into a computer. He turned to the guards and asked, "Do you want me to erase his entire memory? Because if I do, he'll be like an infant and have to learn how to walk, talk, everything." 

The green guard scratched his head. "Um.....no. I guess just erase the stuff about his family and stuff." 

The lab tech sighed. "Okay then." The tech finished typing the commands. 

Back inside the room, Gohan felt a tremendous jolt. A bright light began to flash. Gohan shut his eyes tightly and screamed in pain. It felt as if his head was going to split in two. 

Gohan's body jerked rapidly as he attempted to pull away from whatever it was that was hurting him so terribly. This only caused him to be met with more pain. Desperately he tried to call out for his father, for Piccolo, for Krillin, anyone who might help him. But by the time the managed to say the names.....he'd forgotten who they were. 

Gohan forced his eyes open. The light was still flashing. 

*Gosh that light's bright...* He thought lazily to himself. *Where am I anyway.......that......can't be the sun, can it?* He closed his eyes again. *My head hurts.....* 

Then suddenly something flashed across Gohan's mind. He saw some tall, green man jump in front of him, just seconds before they were both washed with a bright, stinging light. 

*Who's that guy?* Gohan thought to himself. A name popped briefly into his head. *Pic.....Piccolo?* The memory was only there for a second and then it was gone. Gohan wanted to know more. He pushed himself to remember. 

Another memory came. This time of a bald man with three eyes firing a giant blast from his hands and then collapsing. 

The memory flashed and was gone. 

"Owwww...."Gohan moaned. He wanted the pain to go away, but he also wanted to know who all these strange people were that he kept seeing. 

A picture appeared again. This one was a bit clearer than the others. A creepy looking man with hair that stood unnaturally vertical stood over the form of an unmoving person. 

Who was that? Gohan thought harder. He felt he knew the person who wasn't moving, but who....Who was it? He was someone close.....someone that Gohan knew very well.......some one who had...... 

Then, all at once, Gohan's memories came flooding back. His eyes snapped open. They were not the innocent, curious eyes of a five year old boy, but the hard, angry eyes of a warrior. 

"Daddy...." Gohan whispered. His hidden power began to surface once again. A bright aura surrounded the little boy, and the restraints surrounding him snapped. Gohan leapt up in a blind rage. He remembered. Vegeta had killed his father. VEGETA HAD KILLED HIS FATHER!!!! 

Outside the room, the lab tech had seen what was going on and took off down the hallway. The guards ran towards the door, weapons drawn. Suddenly, the door explode right out off the wall and crashed against the opposite side. Gohan stepped out. The guards gawked at him as the boy turned to them. 

"You!" He shouted. In his current state of anger, he thought the guards were Vegeta. "You! You killed my daddy!" 

Before the stunned guards could do anything, Gohan powered up and fired. The guards never knew what hit them; they were vaporized almost immediately. 

Gohan breathed heavily, the powered down. He sank to his knees and returned to his normal self. 

"H..huh? But how did I get out of the-" 

"You there! Freeze!" Gohan jerked his head in the direction the voice had came from. Several armed people were rushing towards him. 

"Uh-oh! Waaaaahh!" Gohan jumped to his feet and ran at them. One swung at him, but Gohan slid into the splits and swept the guys feet out from underneath him. Before the guy hit the ground, Gohan sucker punched him, knocking the guard out. The three others attacked at once. 

Gohan leapt up and over them and ran down the hallway, only to be met by more guards. He back flipped and kicked two of them under the chin, then turned and caught another guard in the gut. 

"Stupid brat!" One of them yelled and fired his weapon at Gohan. Gohan ducked, and the beam passed over his head and into another guard who was sneaking up behind him. The guard fell and knocked into the other one, pinning her down. 

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Gohan shouted as he leapt up. He kicked one of the two guards who was still standing in the head, then turned and hit the other in the breast bone. 

"Phew..." Gohan wiped sweat from his forehead and looked around. None of his attackers were left standing. He looked farther down the hallway. It split off into three paths. 

"Uh oh.....I've gotta go find Krillin!" He exclaimed and ran off to find his friend. 


	4. Not For Sale

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter four   
  


Not for Sale   
  


Krillin tried to force his eyes open. They opened about halfway, but then immediately closed again. His head felt heavy and he let it sink onto his chest. 

"What happened?" He asked himself. His throat was dry, and his voice came out a hoarse whisper. Krillin's arms were soar and still pinned behind his back. His mind was cloudy, but he vaugly remembered Vegeta's eyes burning into his and then feeling something stinging him in the back.... 

Of course. They must have given him something that had knocked him out, a tranquilizer or something. Krillin tried to open his eyes again, but they refused to budge. 

"Come on Krillin, get it together..." Forgetting about the cuffs, Krillin tried to stretch his hurting arms. He was reminded by the sharp feeling of an electric shock. Now, his eyes snapped open. Not that it made much of a difference. The human fighter was propped up against a cold wall and wherever it was, it was almost pitch black. There was only a very thin shaft of light near the floor on the other side of the room. 

Krillin looked at it for a minute and then decided that that was where he needed to go. He tried to stand up. 

"Come on, I can do this." He told himself. He braced his back against the wall and tried to scoot up it like that, sense he couldn't use his arms or his hands. After several tries he managed to get into a standing position. 

"O...kay...Lets..go." Krillin took a step forward and immediately felt dizzy. He stopped and stepped back to the wall. 

"Damn it..." Cursing he tried again. He stopped again, but this time it wasn't because he was in danger of falling over, it was because he heard voices. 

"........My last offer. Twenty thousand, and you're lucky I'm even offering that. If its level wasn't as high as it was then I wouldn't even offer you two thousand for earth trash like it," One voice was saying. 

"Sorry sir. That one in there is Zolomon's new pet. He's coming to pick it up after he's done with the rest of the inspections. I'm guessing to use it for that harebrained research of his. Besides, its out cold. Probably will be for days," said another. Krillin knitted his eyebrows in confusion. What on earth were these people talking about? He wasn't sure but he definitely felt sorry for what ever poor creature these two people were talking about, apparently discussing buying and selling it. 

"Research!" The first voice exclaimed. "Something with a ki level of 3,500 is not a research specimen. Something with that level would make an excellent labor slave, its a perfect worker for my colony." 

The two voices continued to argue. *Ki level of.......3,500???!!* Krillin thought with a wave of realization. He did a quick power scan of himself. His senses told him what he had not wanted to discover: His current power was around 3,500. They were talking about him. 

Krillin felt sick. Whoever was out there wanted to buy him....like he was nothing more than a.... 

"Slave..." Krillin said out loud. "This is what Vegeta was talking about..." Sweat began to form on his forehead. 

"Okay....I don't have to panic. I can get out of this," Krillin said, trying to reassure himself. Somehow, he would have to get out of the cuffs, out of the cell, find Gohan, and get the heck off that awful planet. 

*That'll be easy...Well, first thing's first. Gotta get these things off...* Krillin tried to power up to snap them off, but the shock cut him off. He tried again, and again until he could barely stand from the pain. Someone banged on the walls of his cell and yelled, "Keep it down in there!!" 

"Damn..." Krillin swayed uneasily. If he kept doing that he would end up either unconscious or dead. He needed a way to cut through the middle section of the cuffs so that they wouldn't sense the resistence. He thought for a moment and then smiled to himself. 

"Bingo!" 

Outside, the two voices were still arguing, creating just enough noise to cover up what Krillin was about to do. Keeping his voice low, Krillin concentrated on bringing his internal energy to his hands. 

"Ki...en..zan..." He whispered. The white energy in his hands grew stronger. Krillin positioned his tied hands so that the palms were facing one another. Now, this was the tricky part. He had to make the Kiezan powerful enough to saw through the cuffs, but small enough so that it didn't tear a huge hole in his back. Slowly, the disc shaped energy began to form. 

Through the wall, Krillin heard an electric beeping sound. The second voice paused the argument for a moment. 

"It's energy is raising." Krillin almost halted right there. He held his breath. The other replied. 

"So what, those restraints will stop it. I didn't know it could raise its ki." 

"Yeah, Lord Vegeta mentioned it to Zolomon and Zolomon told me. It shouldn't raise too high." 

"You see what I mean, the ability to raise one's power at will could be very useful to me. Perhaps I could use it as a colony weapon.." The voice trailed off thoughtfully. 

"For the last time, its not for sale!" The two went back to arguing. Krillin let out a sigh of relief and went back to work. He scowled a bit. He didn't like being called an it. 

Now that he had enough energy, the earthling began forming a sharp edge with it. He sharpened it slowly, taking care not to make it too big. The disc began to spin. It spun faster and faster, then finally Krillin heard the sound of tearing metal. The kienzan's sharp edge slowly began cutting through the connecting strip of the cuffs. The light from it lit up a tiny portion of the cell. Krillin could see that over where the strip of light was, a thick metal door stood menacingly. That was the next obstacle. 

Suddenly, the cuffs sparked and the kienzan hit the circuitry. Krillin could begin to feel the blade spin as it came closer to his back. That was close enough. Now that the circuitry was destroyed, Krillin could do the rest himself. He stopped the kienzan. 

"At lease let me go inside and take a look at it. If its a sickly little thing I won't bother you anymore." The first voice whined. The second voice sighed. 

"Fine. I'll let you take a look, but just **a** look. Then you can talk to Zolomon if you absolutely have to have this one." 

"Thank you. Now that wasn't so hard was it?" 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 

Krillin drew his breath in. With the kienzan gone the cell was pitch black again, but he could hear the door opening. Quickly, he powered up and snapped to cuffs off. No time to stretch now. He leapt up as far as the ceiling would allow him to. The door opened. 

Two creatures stepped in. One of them was dressed in the usual Saiyan armor. A scouter, like the one Bulma had repaired, was fitted over one eye. That explained how they knew what Krillin's level was. It was a strange looking thing. It looked a bit like an Earth alligator except that it didn't have the reptilian scales. 

The other one was garbed in some weird looking, shiny green fabric. It looked a bit human, only it was pale purple and had tiny horns growing out near the edge of both its eyes. Light flooded the cell as they looked around. The purple being scanned the cell area slowly. 

"Well, where is it?" The creature demanded. 

"It was....uh.....in here a minute ago. Here human, human, human, human, human." The alligator thing sang. Krillin bit back laughter. He was hovered in the left corner near the door. Neither of the two aliens had noticed him. He started to slowly fly towards the door. He was almost there but.... 

Beep! Beep! Beep! 

The alligator creature's scouter beeped at the ki Krillin was outputting to fly. Both aliens turned around. Krillin quickly landed and backed out the door. He flashed the aliens a peace sign. 

"Sorry. Not for sale." They ran towards the door, but Krillin slammed it shut in their faces. He could hear them pounding on the other side. 

"Open this thing! What are you waiting for!" The purple one was whining. 

"I can't! The control panel is on the other side!" The alligator one yelled back. 

"You idiot!!" 

Krillin laughed to himself and dusted his hands. Still chuckling, he turned around. 

And found himself staring into three more guards. The sneered down at him. Krillin laughed nervously. 

"Trying to escape, huh?" One of them asked him. Krillin put his hand behind his head. 

"Um.......how 'bout we talk this out like nice.......civilized......uh.....alien...people." The threesome just laughed and began to close in on him. 

"Or not..." Krillin powered up to his maximum and raised his defense. "O-ho! Tough guy, huh?" What appeared to be the leader laughed loudly and then swung a punch directly at Krillin's head. Krillin ducked and swung his elbow into his attackers stomach. The guard froze and his eyes bugged out. Krillin held his position, waiting for the moment to be right to attack again. 

That moment came when the guard he had just elbowed grabbed Krillin's arms. Instead of being forced back, the last Z fighter used it to his advantage. He swung back and then kicked straight up. He used his right leg to knock the big guard upside the head; then when his arms were free he finished his flip and bounded to the side. 

The guard he'd attacked stood for a moment longer, then fell. The other two looked at the earthling in shock. 

"Why you..." 

"Get him!" The guards rushed at him. Krillin stood ready and waited. 

"Okay! This one, I learned from Goku!" Krillin formed a fist. 

"Rock!" He put energy behind the fist and slammed it into the first guard's face. The guard yelled angrily and brought his hands up to his broken nose. 

"Scissors!" This time, Krillin extended two fingers in the shape of a V and jabbed them in the second guard's eyes. The guard stumbled blindly. 

"Paper!!" Using as much strength as he could, he hit both guards flat palmed in the chest, knocking them back into the wall. With all three out of commission, Krillin wiped his face with the back of his arm and let a quiet breath out. 

"Good thing they were weak.....Gohan!" Krillin looked up and down the hallway, half expecting to see his younger friend. Not seeing the boy, Krillin concentrated instead on Gohan's energy. 

....... 

...... 

..... 

"Gotcha!" Krillin cried happily. He started silently down the hallway, keeping his power low...... 

**************************************************************************************   
  


Vegeta stood quietly. He was in a bent position with his right arm crossed over his chest touching his left shoulder. In front of him was a large chair, black and positioned so the back of it was to Vegeta. All that was visible of the occupant of the chair was a hand which was absentmindedly twirling a glass of wine. One either side of the chair stood the two odd looking beings who Vegeta had been talking to earlier, when Krillin and Gohan had first arrived. The were facing Vegeta. The fat pink one had a disgusting smirk on his face while the quiet blue alien stood with a pouty look engraved on his features. 

Finally, the being in the chair spoke. 

"So tell me Vegeta....Why is it that you are planning on going to Namek?" 

"I have some business there that I need taken care of," Vegeta replied without taking his eyes off the ground or changing position. 

"And what business would that be?" The voice paused to take a sip of the whine. "For those dragon balls that are said to be so powerful?" Vegeta gulped. 

"Sire, I-" 

"Quiet. No doubt you're curious how I know about them." The voice seemed happy at the Saiyan prince's discomfort. Vegeta didn't answer. *Who cares? He probably heard Radditz's message on that stupid scouter of his,* Vegeta thought, though he didn't say it outloud. 

"Well, I overheard the little message from Radditz." The being took another sip of the wine. "Such a shame he was killed by that earth trash. And one of the very few of your race left....thanks to that unfortunate meteor. That was a shame, wasn't it Vegeta? Lucky you were on my ship at the time." 

"Yes sire." Vegeta was fuming inside. He knew it was no meteor that had destroyed his planet. It was really this......this creature. 

"Well, those dragon balls caught my interest. The prospect of being the most powerful being in the universe forever you see. I'll be leaving for Namek shortly. Vegeta, you **did** keep some of those weaklings you fought on earth alive, didn't you?" 

"Um...yes. Two of them. I brought them to the slave trade," Vegeta said quietly. 

"Go back and get them. Bring them here." The voice laughed again. "I have a feeling that they will be helpful in our search." 

Vegeta gritted his teeth. "But they don't have anyway of locating them. What good are they? And besides, one of them is getting his memory erased-" 

"Then you'd better hurry before it's completed. They have to have some method of finding the balls. Otherwise how would they be able to find them on their own mudball planet?" The voice stated. "Bring them here." 

Vegeta suppressed a sigh. "Yes sire." He straightened up and turned around. Angry, he began to walk from the room. 

"Oh and Vegeta." 

Vegeta froze and tried not to let his anger overwhelm him. 

"I'm starting to get the feeling that your loyalty towards me is beginning to waver. I hope that's not true. You aren't that stupid, even if you are a monkey, eh Vegeta?" 

Vegeta bit his lower lip and balled his hands into fists. "Yes Frieza." Vegeta stalked out of the room. The voice laughed, then polished off the wine in the glass. 

"Zarbon," The voice barked. The blue alien turned his emerald eyes towards the chair. 

"Didoria." The fat alien also looked at the turned chair. 

"Take a ship. I think little Vegeta needs a babysitter. Make sure he does what he is told. Go after him." 

"Yes Lord Frieza." Zarbon and Didoria bowed and then followed the way Vegeta went. Vegeta stepped into his pod, ready to take the short trip back to the slave trade. His mind was filled with thoughts of his betrayal. 

*Frieza may be right about those two knowing a way to find the dragon balls. First stop is the slave trade. But then its right on to Namek.* Vegeta smiled as he thought to himself and blasted off, unaware that someone was tailing him. 


	5. Don't Drink the Water, Gohan!! Krillin M...

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter five   
  


Don't Drink the Water, Gohan!! 

Krillin Makes a Promise!   
  


A strange bubbling noise echoed down the otherwise silent hallway. Gohan put his hands to his belly. 

"Be quiet!" He ordered it. Of course he just had to inherit that trait from his father. And besides, he hadn't eaten for days. Gohan's stomach ignored his command and just roared even louder. Gohan stopped, put his hands on his hips, and glared down at his belly. 

"Stop it! You'll give away that I'm out here!!" Gohan slowly looked up, then blinked. "Why am I talking to my stomach?" He asked outloud. 

Just then, the door behind him started to open. Gohan gasped and leapt around the corner. He pressed his back to the wall and closed his eyes. He heard a few guards come out of the room and then, laughing, they walked down the other direction. Gohan sighed and slid down until he was sitting. 

"I'm so hungry..."he whined. "And thirsty too. I wish I knew where Krillin was so we could-" Gohan stopped and sniffed the air. He smelled food!! Quickly, he got to his feet and peeked back around the corner. The guards were already out of sight. The door to the room they had come out of was open a tiny bit. That was where the scent was coming from. 

Giggling evilly, Gohan snuck down the hallway. He peeked into the room. No one was in it, but there was all kind of fruit and vegetables and rice......Gohan started drooling as he pulled the door open and went inside. 

"Oh wow!" He shut the door all the way behind him and ran to one of the tables. He looked at all the food in wonder. "This must be where all the guards eat......Where do I start?" He looked around and spotted a bowl with some kind of semi-clear liquid in it. Suddenly more thirsty than he was hungry, Gohan trotted over to it. 

"Hey water!" He picked up the bowl and raised it to his face. Odd, it didn't smell like water.......Gohan looked at it for a minute, then broke into a smile. 

"Oh well!" He was too thirsty to care. He brought the bowl up to his lips and drank the whole thing in about three gulps. He licked his lips and wiped his face with the back of his hand. 

"Yum!" Then he went back to the table with all the fruit and began stuffing his face. After about ten minutes though, he began to feel dizzy. Gohan looked at his hand. To him, it looked like there was two of them. 

"Wow.......neat..." he managed before falling to the floor, snoring. 

************************************************************************************** 

Zarbon and Didoria watched as Vegeta's pod approached the slave trade planet. Zarbon watched as the pod passed through the atmosphere and disappeared from view. 

"Well, so far the little monkey's doing his job properly," Zarbon stated apathetically. Didoria laughed quietly to himself. 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he won't screw it up later on down the road. Should we move in now?" Didoria asked anxiously. Zarbon shook his head. 

"No, lets just wait here for awhile; see what he does. If he returns to Frieza with the earthlings, okay then.....if not then that's where we take over." 

Didoria laughed loudly. "You know, I'm kind of hoping he does turn on Frieza. Then maybe we can finally have a little bit of fun!" 

Zarbon half smiled. "Right...." 

************************************************************************************** 

Vegeta looked back towards the sky. Behind him, on a landing cushion, his pod lay still, open and still smoking from the trip. He could have sworn he'd felt something while flying to the slave trade. Of course, it was very possible he was wrong. He had just begun to teach himself to sense others ki. 

Shrugging it off, Vegeta headed towards the main building. There were several guards pacing around outside. They were chatting and basically slacking off in their job. Vegeta made a mental note to have them fired once he was the supreme ruler of the universe. 

He went into the building and began walking towards the area where the memory extraction chamber was. Vegeta seriously doubted that the half-saiyan brat of Kakarott's still had what little memory he possessed, but it didn't bother him. If the kid didn't remember how to locate the dragon balls, Vegeta could use him as blackmail to get the human to tell him how. In Vegeta's eyes, either way, he won. 

His boots echoed off the walls as he approached the hallway where the memory extraction chamber was. As he got closer, Vegeta could hear confused voices. He turned the corner and was shocked to see a huge hole in the wall of the chamber. Guards were milling all over the place. 

"You!" Vegeta barked at one of them. The guard stopped examining the wall and ran over to Vegeta. He saluted. 

"Yes sir?" 

"What in the fires of Hell happened here?!" 

"Well sir, it appears that one of the prisoners broke free while having their memory altered. He escaped the chamber, killed two of our guards and k.o.ed a bunch others. I don't understand it sir. The lab tech said it was just some little kid, sir." 

"Little kid!" Vegeta cried, hit with realization. "No way......that kid couldn't have gotten free..." *What am I getting all worked up about? So the kid's stronger than I figured.* Vegeta thought. *Its not like he can escape. He'll probably try to go find the other one......* 

"Sir?" The guard's voice brought Vegeta out of his thoughts. Vegeta glared at him. 

"What?" 

"There was another escape too. Two in one day, can you believe it?" The guard laughed nervously. Vegeta balled his hands into fists. 

*They must have _both_ gotten free. They can't be far from each other...They will not escape. They belong to **me.*** Vegeta turned and stalked down the hallway, leaving the confused guard behind him. 

************************************************************************************** 

THUD!! Krillin backed away as the guard fell unconscious to the ground. It had been the third one he had run into. 

Krillin's arm stung. That last guard had managed to nick Krillin's arm with the laser gun before being k.o.ed. Ignoring it, Krillin tried again to sense his younger friend's ki. It was still in the same spot. 

This was beginning to get more than a little frustrating. Normally, it would have been no problem to find Gohan, but the prison was a maze of hallways. Krillin looked at the intersection in front of him. He could go forward, left, or right. Which way was Gohan? 

Krillin tried to suppress a yawn. All the stress from the last few days had made him exhausted. He shook his head to clear it, rubbed his eyes, and then searched each direction for Gohan's energy. It seemed to be somewhere........to the left maybe? 

Krillin brought his hand to the small cut on his arm and walked towards the left. 

-Vegeta- 

Krillin froze. His senses were telling him that another familiar ki was in the area. 

"No....Damn, not Vegeta. Not now....." The Saiyan prince seemed to be coming from the right, but he didn't appear to be coming right at the earth warrior or Gohan. 

"He must not have his scouter.." Krillin said to himself. "I wonder....I wonder if he's looking for us...No time now. I've got to find Gohan." 

Krillin started down the hallway when he realized something else. Gohan was to have had his memory erased. What if he was on Vegeta's side now? And what if looking for Gohan was leading Krillin right into a trap? Krillin halted for a moment. 

*No. I can't just leave Gohan without knowing. I've got to get him. And if he _has_ lost his memory...* Krillin gulped. *I'll have to find a way to change him back.* 

With that thought the remaining Z warrior trudged towards Gohan's ki. 

As he walked, Krillin looked down at himself. His uniform was torn in many places from the battle with the Saiyans....the battle that had cost his best friend's life. Krillin's anger soared. He gritted his teeth. 

"Goku..." Never before had the earth bred Saiyan lost a battle. Never. Especially when everything was on the line. But this time, the enemy had just been too strong. Goku had lost. The words burned in Krillin's head. Goku had LOST. For the first time it began to really sink in. Goku was gone. Goku, the one who was always there for you, who never hurt anyone he didn't have to, the one who had saved Krillin's and his other friend's lives so many times...........was dead. 

Hot tears burned in Krillin's eyes. He didn't bother to wipe them away. 

"Goku....why'd you lose?" He asked outloud. "Now me and Gohan...we're the only ones left." 

Then suddenly he realized what he had to do. He **had** to get to Namek and get those dragon balls before Vegeta did. He had to wish Goku and the others back. 

"I promise Goku, I'll get those dragon balls if it kills me. And don't worry, I'll take care of Gohan." Krillin didn't expect an answer. He was really just talking to make himself feel better. 

Gohan's ki grew closer. It seemed to be coming from one of the rooms in the hallway. Krillin looked at each one, concentrating. 

"No....no....no....no.....that one!" He walked over to one of the doors and pulled it open. There was tons of food on the various tables, making Krillin's stomach growl with hunger. Gohan was under one of the tables, snoring peacefully. 

"Gohan!" Krillin ran over to Goku's son and took him by the shoulders. 

"Gohan! Wake up! Wake up and please, please remember me!!" Krillin shook Gohan roughly, trying to rouse him, but the kid refused to wake up. 

"Gohan, come on!!" Vegeta's power was getting closer by the minute. Krillin guessed that the monster who killed Goku had spotted him and was following him. Panicking, Krillin slapped Gohan in the face. It worked. Gohan's eyes slowly opened. 

"Huh?" The boy moaned. Krillin held his breath. Gohan didn''t appear to recognize him. 

"Gohan? Its me!" 

"Wha...Krillin?" Gohan asked, with recognition showing on his face. Krillin laughed. Gohan sat up. 

"How'd you get here?" The boy asked. Krillin made a face and waved his hand in front of his face. 

"Gohan, have you been drinking?!" Krillin exclaimed. Gohan looked at him, confused. 

"What?" 

Krillin laughed again, stood up, and extended his hand out to the little boy. "Never mind. Come on, we've got to find a way out of this place." 

Gohan took his older friend's hand and Krillin pulled him to his feet. Gohan swayed. 

"Woooah." 

"Gohan, what's up with you?" 

"I don't know....I feel dizzy...." Gohan put his hand to his head. Krillin looked at him, concerned. 

"Gohan...did you drink or eat something in here?" 

"Ummmm...yeah. I ate some of that stuff and I had some funny smelling water-" 

"Water?" Gohan pointed at the bowl he had drank from. 

"Over there." Krillin walked over to the table and peered over it. There were a few bottles on the table. Krillin grabbed one and yanked to cork off. A faint smell wafted out. 

"Gross. Gohan, I think you drank some very cheap wine." Krillin looked the bottle over again quickly. "And some cheap stuff too." 

"Oops." Gohan grinned sheepishly. Krillin laughed in spite of himself. He put the bottle back and walked back over to his friend. 

"We'd better go Gohan. Can you walk straight?" 

"I think so.." Gohan carefully took a step forward. Then another one. Then he turned back around and nodded. 

"Yeah. I can walk okay." 

"Good. Now lets get out of here." The two of them started to walk out of the room. 

"So how did you get out of that memory thing?" Krillin asked. 

"Well, I'm not quite sure. At first I-" 

"So there you are. And both of you in one spot. I don't know how you escaped, and I don't care. Just keep quiet and if you're lucky I won't kill you." 

Krillin and Gohan froze. Blocking the doorway with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.....was Vegeta. 


	6. To Namek

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter six   
  


To Namek   
  


"Vegeta," Krillin growled. Gohan glared at the older Saiyan who just stood there smirking at the two warriors. Instinctively, Krillin and Gohan stepped back into a fighting position. Krillin felt his heart pounding in his chest as Vegeta looked from him to Gohan. He tried not to let his fear show. Why let Vegeta have the satisfaction of that? 

The warriors from Earth and the being who had destroyed almost everything they knew stared at each other, each of them daring the other to make the first move. Gohan gulped. Now what was going to happen? 

"How.....did you find us?" Gohan asked, noticing Vegeta didn't have a scouter on. 

"That was easy. I just followed the trail of guards you two beat up. I didn't think I was going the right way until I ran into the little trail your idiot friend left," Vegeta said smugly. Krillin and Gohan glanced at each other. 

"What do you mean, trail?" Krillin asked warily. Vegeta gestured to the ground. 

"Look for yourself." Krillin refused to look away from Vegeta, but Gohan looked down at the ground near the door. A dotted trail of blood led in from the hallway. Gohan looked up to Krillin's arm. The small cut the guard had given him had been dripping tiny droplets of blood all the way from the intersection, leading Vegeta right to them. 

"What's there, Gohan?" Krillin asked, still not taking his eyes from his enemy. 

"You're bleeding," Gohan said simply. Krillin squeezed his eyes shut briefly, cursing at himself. *I should have looked to make sure I wasn't leading him to Gohan. Now I've done it....* There was probably nothing he could have done to prevent Vegeta from running into him eventually, but Krillin always had a habit of blaming himself when things happened. It was something he had done ever since he was a kid. He could think of only one thing to do. He had to make sure Vegeta didn't hurt Gohan. Krillin prepared himself to launch an attack at Vegeta, so that Gohan could get away, but Vegeta seemed to read his mind. 

"Don't even think about trying to get past me, unless you have a death wish. It'd be a shame if I had to kill one of you, now wouldn't it?" 

Gohan growled and stared Vegeta right in the eyes. "Shut up. I don't want to listen to your dumb voice anymore." Vegeta laughed and slowly approached the boy. Gohan flinched, expecting Vegeta to hit him, but Vegeta just patted him on the head. 

"You're just like I am, kid. A Saiyan. You and your friend are going to help me on Namek. So I'm not going to kill you. Doesn't that make you feel better?" Gohan shuddered and pulled away. 

"No! I'm not like you, you monster! We aren't going to help you do anything!" 

"Hmmmm..."Vegeta hummed. "Really? I'll make you a deal. If you try anything, I'm going to kill him." He jerked his thumb in Krillin's direction and then turned his attention to the former monk. 

"And if _you _try anything, I'll kill _him_." Vegeta gestured at Gohan. Gohan growled. Krillin searched his mind, trying to think of something to do. He knew that Vegeta would almost defiantly carry out his threat. Krillin looked at Gohan. He couldn't let anything happen to him. The earthling quietly let his fists relax and looked down. 

"Okay Vegeta," Krillin said quietly. Gohan gasped and looked at his friend in shock. He couldn't believe his ears. Suddenly, Krillin looked up angrily at the Saiyan prince. 

"But you've gotta let Gohan go back to Earth. You leave him out of this." Krillin demanded. 

"But Krillin-" Gohan began to protest, but Krillin cut him off. 

"Listen to me. We're the only ones left. At least one of us has to survive, and it has to be you!" Krillin insisted. Gohan just shook his head with his mouth hanging open. He couldn't just leave, not knowing that after Vegeta got what he wanted, he'd probably kill the only friend he had left! Vegeta watched the scene unfolding in front of him with amusement. 

"What makes you think I'll let him go in the first place? I'm the one calling the shots here, not you," Vegeta boasted. Krillin turned his attention away from Gohan. 

"Look, the only reason you're keeping us alive is because you need us to help you find the namekian dragon balls, right? Well, I know how to find them. He doesn't." 

Gohan looked at Krillin in confusion. From what his dad had told him, the only way to locate the dragon balls was with Bulma's dragon radar. Neither Krillin or Gohan had the radar with them, so how could Krillin find them without it? As he pondered this, Gohan noticed Krillin glancing at him. Then it hit him. Krillin didn't know how to find the dragon balls without the radar. He was lying so Vegeta would let Gohan go. 

"Besides," Krillin continued. "You saw how his power raised when you got him mad. You wouldn't want to risk him getting stronger than you and beating you, would you?" 

Vegeta frowned and thought. *The earthling may have a point.....But if that's true then why is he telling me that? Something's going on here.....* 

Vegeta looked back at Krillin and Gohan and smirked. "Okay, shrimp, you've got a deal. The kid can go. You come with me." Krillin started to nod, but Gohan suddenly started yelling. 

"No! I'm not going!! You can't make me!" 

"Listen Gohan! You have to go back to Earth. You have to. Someone has to go back to take over things there!" Krillin replied. He took Gohan by the arms. "Go, Gohan." 

Gohan gritted his teeth for a while longer and then relaxed, slowly nodding. He knew in his heart that Krillin was right. As long as one of them was free there was hope. Gohan smiled and patted the boy on the head. 

"You done arguing?" Vegeta asked impatiently. Krillin nodded and the two of them left the room. Gohan stared after them and tears erupted from his eyes. He was all alone now. 

Gohan stood in the same place, unable to move. "No..." He said outloud, wiping his face. "I'm not alone. I have what Piccolo and the others taught me. I'll go back to Earth. I'll get strong enough to defeat Vegeta, and then I'll get the others back." Now determined, Gohan looked down the hallway. He needed to find a ship to get him back......home. 

************************************************************************************** 

Vegeta watched as the Earthling walked in front of him, obviously nervous and uncomfortable. Vegeta had insisted that Krillin walk in front of him so that he couldn't try to sneak off. 

"So just how are you going to locate those dragon balls anyway?" Vegeta asked haughtily. Krillin narrowed his eyes and kept looking straight ahead. 

"You'll see when we get there. Its......hard to explain." 

Vegeta scoffed. "You know it was a waste to let that kid go back to that pathetic planet of yours. Once I'm immortal, I'm going to go back and annihilate your entire race." 

Krillin clenched his fists tighter. *Not if I can help it, you creep.* He thought. Vegeta took note of his silence. 

"What, aren't you going to go into some big speech about how you aren't going to let that happen?" He sneered. Krillin ignored him. Vegeta laughed. 

"Turn left here," he commanded as they came to an intersection. Krillin turned left, with Vegeta following him. After a few more paces, Vegeta stopped. Hearing the Saiyan's footsteps cease, Krillin tensed and turned around. Vegeta was looking down at him with a very smug look on his face. It sent chills down Krillin's spine. 

"W...what? Why did you stop?" Krillin asked, trying to mask his fear. Vegeta didn't move. 

"You didn't really think I was going to actually let that kid go, did you?" Vegeta said, deathly calm. Krillin took a fighting stance. 

"What are you talking about? He's probably on his way back to Earth already," the worried Z warrior stated. Vegeta snickered and took a step forward. 

"I doubt it. It'll take him hours just to find his way to the ship dock. I know you're up to something. Why else would you want him to leave?" 

"N-no!" Krillin stammered. 

"I think I know what's going on. He leaves first and gets the dragon balls while you stall me. Then he wishes all your pathetic little friends back. Well guess what. That's not going to happen." Vegeta moved towards Krillin once again. 

"I should have known you'd go back on your word, Vegeta," Krillin 

growled. 

"Right. Too bad you're a gullible fool, human." Vegeta spat out the word 'human' like it was a bad taste in his mouth. Krillin cringed. 

"So you're going to kill us both right now then, huh?" The earthling said knowingly. 

"Not yet. I still need you to find those dragon balls for me," Vegeta said. 

*So he still thinks we can find the dragon balls on our own,* Krillin thought. *That should give us a bit of an edge over him. He doesn't have his scouter on.....if we manage to get away from him, it should take him a while to find us again. We just might be able to get the dragon balls before him and get the others back...its a long shot.....but it just might work.* 

"What makes you think we'll find them for you?" Krillin asked. 

"Easy. You'll find them or I'll kill that little brat," Vegeta said, smiling. 

"No you won't. Not while I'm around," Krillin promised. He decided to try something. "Kienzan...." The attack had almost worked on Nappa. Now, in the small confinements of the hallway, it would be difficult for Vegeta to dodge. It was possible..... 

The disk of energy formed up around Krillin's hand. It began to spin faster and faster. Through the light the attack was omitting, Krillin could see Vegeta looking amused. 

"Catch this, you basturd," Krillin muttered. Then his eyes went wide as Vegeta slammed his fist into the human's stomach. The energy quickly disappeared as Krillin clutched his abdomen in pain. He felt the slick, iron taste of blood in his mouth and tried not to gag. 

"How......did......how did you get so fast....."He managed. Vegeta glared down at him. 

"Fool. A Saiyan grows more powerful after healing from every injury. Try that thing again and I'll rip your arm off." 

"Damn it......." Krillin coughed. Blinking through the pain, he peered up at Vegeta. Vegeta was standing with his hands on his hips, with a satisfied look on his face. He was leaving himself wide open for attack. 

Krillin pushed past the stabbing pain in his gut and quickly lunged forward, putting as much strength into his arm as he could. It caught Vegeta between the ribs, making a sharp cracking sound as it hit. Vegeta gasped in surprise and pain, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He grabbed Krillin's arm and spun him around, pinning his arm behind his back. 

"You idiot. That was a very stupid thing to do." Vegeta slammed his elbow into the back of Krillin's head. Krillin stopped struggling against him and slumped forward into Vegeta's arm, unconscious. Vegeta grunted and slung the warrior over his shoulder. He began walking down the hallway. 

"Little freak. Lucky I need him alive." Ignoring the throbbing pain of his broken ribs, Vegeta walked in the direction of the ship bay. He needed a bigger ship. His pod wouldn't do anymore. 

After a few minutes, Vegeta reached the bay. Luckily, there was no one around. He looked around, and spotted his choice, a large ship that was used by the higher ranking soldiers for long missions. It hadn't been used for a few weeks. 

Vegeta hit the button on the side that would make the door open, cursing to himself. He didn't know how long Frieza would wait for him to return before he sent someone after him. 

The door open and he went inside. He tossed Krillin rather roughly onto the floor and then started back to the door. On his way, he passed a window and gazed at his reflect on. His armor had cracked where Krillin had hit him. Vegeta made an angry face at the person looking back at him. 

*Moron.* He thought to himself. *You shouldn't have let your guard down.....Oh well.....* 

"Soon, I'll be immortal. And then flies like him won't be able to come close to my power." Vegeta gave a satisfied smirk, and then went out the door, making sure it locked behind him. That done, he went to go find his other prisoner....Gohan. 

************************************************************************************** 

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out. 


	7. "Great. What do we do now?"

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter seven   
  


"Great. What do we do now?"   
  


Gohan sat blinking in the middle of the hallway. He stared straight ahead. And then suddenly.... 

"AUGHHH! I'm lost again!! Why can't they have a map or something?!!" Gohan crossed his legs and went back to sulking. 

*Shoot. I'm supposed to be going back to Earth and I can't even figure out how to get out of this place.* Picking him self off the ground and dusting himself off, Gohan hummed to himself. 

"I hope Krillin's okay....." He sighed loudly and continued up the hallway. After a few short minutes, he passed a room that had its doors open....the one where he and Krillin had reunited at. 

"GAH! I'm going in circles!! Stupid...maze....thing......Aw Damn it!!" Realizing what had just came out of his mouth, Gohan clapped his hands over his mouth and looked around quickly to see if anyone had heard him. Of course, no one had. 

"Oops....Hey, I have an idea!!" Gohan fired a small blast at the ground, leaving a messy hole. "Now I won't go in circles anymore!" Proud of himself, Gohan walked past the room and down the hallways, occasionally leaving more small craters. After nearly twenty more minutes, he let out a cry of joy. At the end of the hallway he was in at the moment was a pinprick of light. 

"Yeah! An exit!!" Gohan laughed to himself and ran towards the light. It looked like the coast was clear. He was going home!! Gohan felt a balloon of excitement swell up inside him. It felt like he'd been gone for years and years; and now he was finally going return back to Earth! 

And then........the balloon burst. There was a shadow in the distance. It was hard to tell exactly because the lighting was so poor, but the way the figure carried itself, the build, the unruly hair, and the ki signal were unmistakable. It was Vegeta. Alone. 

Biting his tongue to keep from swearing again, Gohan shrank back against the wall. He could see the Saiyan prince had already spotted him. Vegeta was walking more briskly, and as he grew nearer Gohan could see the satisfactory smirk on his face. 

Giving up on hiding, Gohan stepped out into the middle of the hallway and readied himself for the attack he knew would eventually come. But although he did his best to remain confident, something kept nagging at him in the back of his mind. 

*Crap........where's Krillin.......what'd that goon do to him?* Gohan kept his eyes straight forward as Vegeta came within a few feet of him. 

"You saved me some time," Vegeta scoffed. "I thought I was going to have to look all over the place for you again." 

"You said I could go." Gohan growled sharply. "You're a liar." Vegeta stared at the boy for a moment, and then laughed, quietly at first and then harder and harder until tears of mirth were building up in his eyes. 

"Kid, you crack me up," Vegeta managed, slowing his laughter down to a chuckle. 

"I'm glad. Maybe you won't think I'm so funny once I beat you," Gohan smirked, showing that streak of cockiness he'd inherited from his father. Vegeta looked at him with his hands on his hips. 

"Hate to break this to you, but you aren't going to beat me anytime soon, brat." 

"Where's my friend?" Gohan demanded. "What'd you do to him?" 

"Don't have a heart attack, brat, he's still alive, for the time being at least. " 

"You didn't answer my question," Gohan stated simply. Vegeta snorted. 

"You're a mouthy little brat, you know that? You've also got that same idiot attitude your father did." Gohan ignored him and moved slowly forward, still crouched in a fighting position, his fists held defensively in front of him. 

"You thinking about fighting me, kid?" Vegeta asked, still standing with his hands on his hips, leaving himself confidently open all over the place. 

"Not thinking 'bout. I'm going to," Gohan muttered. He flew at Vegeta with fists flying, knowing that his power still wasn't enough to take the cocky Saiyan down. Still, the little boy put his whole heart and body into his attacks. Still smirking, Vegeta blocked most of them, occasionally getting hit in the face or torso, and backing up towards the light in the end of the hallway. 

Using the anger that had fueled him through his training with Piccolo, Gohan switched strategies and began kicking furiously. Finally, he scored a hit to the mid section of Vegeta's ribs, the same place Krillin had hit him before. The pain renewed itself and the stone warrior faultered, stumbling backwards and nearly tripping over his own feet. Gohan took the opportunity and swung his leg at hard, catching Vegeta in the knees and knocking him to the ground. 

As the Saiyan glared up at the young boy, Gohan laughed inside. He wasn't doing so bad after all. *Still* he thought *I'd better make a run for it now, just to be safe.* 

While Vegeta pulled himself up, Gohan stepped back and ran forward, leapt past Vegeta and tore down the hallway toward the ever growing spot of light. As he ran, Gohan heard something tear, but brushed it off, figuring his clothes had just torn even more from running. He could hear Vegeta behind him, swearing so much it would make a sailor blush, and the son of Goku prayed Vegeta wouldn't fire. 

He was almost at the light, so close he could see the space ships cluttered together outside. Quickly, Gohan threw a glance over his shoulder. Vegeta was catching up with him. The boy turned his gaze back in front of him and then all of a sudden a pull and a shock of extreme pain stopped him. 

Gasping, Gohan fell to his knees and looked behind him to see what hurt so much. There was Vegeta, holding tightly in his fist a furry brown tail.....that was coming from Gohan. 

"Wha!......My......my tail grew back?!" Gohan exclaimed. Vegeta gave a satisfied chuckle and tightened his grip on the boy's tail. Gohan cried out in pain and gritted his teeth. 

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Vegeta asked. "Until you're grown you're tail can grow back many times. Tough break, huh brat?" Vegeta increased the pressure until it was almost too much to bear. Gohan clawed at the ground, trying to do something to get the pain to stop but nothing would. Eventually, it overwhelmed him and darkness over took him..... 

************************************************************************************** 

From their ship, Zarbon and Didoria saw the whole tail-grabbing scene; Didoria finding it hilarious and Zarbon showing no more happiness than usual. As Didoria was grabbing his huge get and laughing boisterously, Zarbon kept an eye on the viewing window. He watched as Vegeta took Gohan into the ship, and then a few minutes later when the ship took off.........in the direction opposite of Frieza. For a moment Zarbon's pout faded into a slight smile. It looked like they were going to be seeing some action on Namek after all. Ignoring everything else, he walked to the control panel and got prepared to call Frieza.   
  


************************************************************************************** 

A/N: Sorry, sorry this took so long to get out. And I know its a bit short, but I wanted to get this chapter out. Sorry again!! 


	8. Arrival On Namek!! Hold Your Breath!!

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter Eight   
  


Arrival on Namek!! Take a Deep Breath!   
  


"Gohan......" Gohan shook his head and continued to sleep. He wished his mom would leave him alone for just one morning. It was so early......he didn't want to study now. 

"Gohan...." The voice continued. Gohan noticed that his mom sounded a lot like Krillin. 

"Gohan! Gohan wake up!!!" Gohan's eyes snapped open. It was Krillin. Gohan sat up quickly, but was halted from going any further by a sharp pain in his backside. His darned tail was......His tail?!! Then it hadn't been a dream. Where was he? 

"Thank goodness you woke up. You had me worried kid," Krillin said, obviously relieved. Gohan stared at his older friend, and then finally comprehending who it was threw his arms around Krillin's waist. 

"I found you! I thought that Vegeta had done something awful to you!!" Krillin chuckled and tenderly rubbed the knot on the back of his head. 

"No....well uh.....no permanent damage anyway. I see you got your tail back......" Krillin laughed nervously. Gohan looked down at the furry brown tail which was twitching slightly back and forth, then looked back at Krillin. 

"Yeah I guess. I betcha it'll help me fight better," the boy said cheerfully. "Dad said that whenever he had his tail he got 20 times stronger. He......couldn't really figure out why it kept disappearing when he slept.." Gohan scratched his head. 

Yeah, no kidding your dad got stronger kid, thought Krillin. I'd get stronger too if I was that....big. Krillin tried not to show his concern, but he knew if Gohan caught a glimpse of the moon there was no telling what would happen. Goku had always lost his reason when he transformed into the giant ape monster. Krillin remembered the first time he'd witnessed his friend transform, the first time they'd entered the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament. It was one of the most terrifying moments of the former monk's life, and certainly one he'd never forget. Krillin remembered how when they all first gathered to fight the Saiyans he'd noticed Gohan's tail was missing. He figured Piccolo had removed it, and boy was he relieved. Gohan's voice brought Krillin out of his thoughts. 

"Huh? Sorry Gohan, I was lost in thought. What did you say?" Krillin asked. 

"I said, 'Where are we?' This doesn't look like the slave trade place." Krillin looked around. Gohan was right. It didn't look like the slave trade. The walls were the same metal as the holding cells there, but they were curved slightly, not boxy. There wasn't much in it either, except some bed type things that were bolted to the wall, four in all. No windows, but the ceiling had glass domes hanging down slightly from it that glowed with white light. Underneath the boys, the floor seemed to vibrate and pulse, almost like they were moving. Krillin stood up, and Gohan shakily followed. 

"I don't know, Gohan. Vegeta said something about......" Gohan and Krillin looked at each other. 

"Taking us to Namek to find the....." Gohan trailed off. 

"Dragonballs." Krillin finished for him. 

"AUUUUGH! This is ridiculous!!" Gohan cried exasperatedly. Krillin clenched his fists. 

"I know!! Vegeta said that he was going back to get you, so I tried to fight him. Didn't do so well......I got one good hit in, and then I don't remember what happened. The next thing I knew, I was in here and you were out cold! Damn!" He punched the steel wall and it made a hard metal 'clang.' Gohan flinched. It seemed like his senses were heightened, and the noise rang in his ears. Krillin looked down. 

"I wonder how long we've got....until we reach Namek. We can't let Vegeta get the dragon balls, I know that much. We've got to get out of here somehow." He sighed. Gohan looked at the outline of the door leading into the room. 

"What better way then the door?" 

"Its probably locked." 

"Then we'll just have to go through it!!" Gohan plowed head first towards the door, and when the top of his head banged into it, he fell back holding his head in pain. 

"Owwwwwwwwww!" Krillin had to smile. Sometimes Gohan acted a lot like his dad. Still smiling, he helped the demi-Saiyan up. 

"Good thing you've got a hard head like your dad's." Gohan shook his head to clear some of the dizziness out, and then grinned. He could see why Goku thought so highly of Krillin. Gohan felt like he could trust him, regardless of the fact that most of the time they had been around each other they were either fighting or getting ready to fight. 

The two of them turned towards the door and sized it up. Krillin put his hands on his hips. 

"Well, I guess trying to force it open that way isn't going to work. How about this..." Krillin put his arms straight out, bringing them together at the wrists. 

"Ka......" He bought them back to his side. "Me......" Gohan nodded and began following his lead. 

"Masen......ka......." 

"Ha.........me.........." 

"Ppo!" 

"Ha!" Both beams flew at the door. They hit and the door flew off its place, banging into the opposite wall and causing quite a racket. The warriors froze and waited. Vegeta didn't come. Taking that for a good sign, they chose a direction, right, and started down it. On the way, they passed a small round window. Going too fast to notice it, they didn't see the green planet that was rapidly coming closer and closer..... 

************************************************************************************** 

In the control room of the ship, Vegeta was worried. According to the space ship's radar, there was a small fleet of 3 ships, one large two others small, heading right for Namek at a much faster rate than his own. They were already entering the huge planet's atmosphere, while he wouldn't be there for another 120 minutes at least. 

Frustrated, he pounded on the panel, silently willing the hunk of junk to go faster. It didn't oblige. 

Damn it. Vegeta swore to himself. Those ships must belong to Frieza. He must have suspected I'd betray him. Fool isn't as stupid as he seems, I suppose. Well, I'd just like to see him try and get those dragon balls first. It'll take him weeks, but I..........." The Prince smirked. "I've got insurance. 

"I wonder if those little pipsweaks are awake yet," Vegeta wondered out loud. And just then, the loud resounding bang of the door being slammed into the wall hit his ears. He swore, and turned around, prepared to go after his two captives, but he halted in midstride. 

No, I'll let them wander around the ship for a while. They won't be going anywhere, not in space. And besides, I've got to prepare for landing soon. Vegeta turned back to the control panel and closely watched the vidwindow. 

************************************************************************************** 

In Frieza's ship, guards, soldiers, and technicians rushed around in every direction preparing for the landing. Frieza stood watching the many flashing monitors with his hands proudly behind his back. On one monitor, the planet Namek could be seen coming in quickly. On another, Zarbon and Didoria could be seen sitting quietly in their separate space pods that were following the main mother ship. After notifying Frieza of Vegeta's treachery, they had left their own large ship to accompany their lord to Namek. 

On yet another screen, the somewhat distant picture of the ship Vegeta and his two "friends" (as Frieza called them) were on was seen as well. Frieza watched with a smug smirk on his face. 

"You little wretch, you think I don't see you? Come to Namek, monkey boy, and try to find your precious dragon balls. Such a trivial little planet will make a fitting burial ground for you and your little earth friends." His tail swung behind him silently as he spoke to himself. 

"I really should have left more Saiyans alive....they're so much fun to watch scurry." He laughed condescendingly as the ship jolted, signaling touch down. Frieza turned and began to walk towards the exit of the ship. On his way, one of the soldiers came to him, knelt on one knee, and presented a scouter to the changeling tyrant. Taking it wordlessly and putting it on, Frieza continued out of the ship. 

Just as he was doing so, the two space pods crashed into the soil about a half mile away from Frieza's ship on both sides. While Frieza waited for his left and right hand men to arrive at the landing zone, he stepped out of his ship and onto the Namekian turf. He inhaled deeply. The air smelled sweet and clean, much like the planet itself. The sky was a pale green, while the grass and tops of the thin trees were a shade of blue. The wind blew softly, carrying the fragrance of alien flowers. Frieza spat, disgusted. 

"What a pathetic place. It'll be much better once the scent of blood is rich in the air." Those around him nodded quickly. They knew better than to cross Frieza. Zarbon arrived, his arms still crossed as they were in his pod. Two minutes later, Didoria also flew up and landed beside the green haired alien. 

"So," Zarbon asked in his soft tone. "Where to first? We don't exactly where to start looking for those balls, so what should we do?" 

"Zarbon," Frieza said. "You underestimate my intelligence. We aren't going to look for the **dragon balls**." 

"We aren't?" Didoria asked, surprised. 

"No." Frieza continued, still looking straight ahead. "We're going to find the **Nameks.** They will tell us where they are and hand them over." 

"And if they refuse?" Zarbon asked. 

"They won't refuse." Frieza said confidently. Didoria laughed softly to himself, but Zarbon still looked doubtful. Frieza turned his head slightly and regarded him. 

"Is something wrong, Zarbon?" 

"No sire. I was just wondering about Vegeta and those two earthlings that were with him. When we saw Vegeta last his power had grown significantly. And we aren't sure about the levels of the other two. They....could be a problem if they all team up together. If you'd like I'll stay behind to take care of them when they land, so they won't be a bother." 

"Zarbon," Frieza said curtly. "I believe I am in charge here. Vegeta's level did not grow that much. You or Didoria can still take him out easily. And if those earthlings were defeated by Vegeta, then they are no problem either. They won't come close to putting a dent in my power. I suggest you ignore them. They'll be lost here, and by the time they find where we are it'll be too late. We'll have the dragon balls and I will be immortal. Then we will kill them." 

Zarbon kept his eyes on the ground. "Yes sir." 

"Good. So its clear. As long as Vegeta and his gang stay away from us and don't interfere we wait until after the dragon balls have been collected. Now, Didoria....where is the nearest group of life forms?" 

Didoria clicked his scouter on. The numbers beeped and blinked until finally coming to a stop. Didoria pointed Northeast. 

"Over there, there's a weak bunch of ki levels," Didoria grumbled. Frieza snickered. 

"Excellent. Zarbon, Didoria, and three others. Follow me." With Frieza in the lead, the group took off towards the unexpected Namekian village. 

**************************************************************************************   
  


"Another dead end." Krillin and Gohan stared up and the wall at the end of the hallway. They'd been going up and down hallways for a while now, taking great care to avoid Vegeta's ki signal. They couldn't believe he still hadn't come after them yet. 

"I know. This is getting on my nerves." Gohan replied. All of a sudden a shudder passed through the ship, and the humming beneath their feet stopped. Gohan gulped. 

"I guess that means we've landed,"Gohan whispered. Krillin nodded. They stood in silence for a minute, and then the lightbulb went on in Krillin's head. 

"Hey.....since we aren't in space anymore we can probably just bust through the ceiling like we did with the door!" 

"Yeah! Good thinking!" 

"Ready?" Krillin asked, looking down on his friend. Gohan nodded. 

"Ready. Masenkappo!" 

"Kamehameha!!" Again, the Z warriors fired. The beams made contact first with the ceiling, then with each other, causing a large explosion. Metal and debry rained down on them, causing them to shield their faces with their arms. 

Once the dust cleared, Gohan and Krillin looked up at their handiwork. A jagged hole was in the roof of the space craft, letting bright sunlight in. Gohan and Krillin cried out in joy, but they happiness soon subsided as they both felt Vegeta's power moving quickly throughout the ship. 

************************************************************************************** 

Vegeta had heard and definitely felt the shock of the roof being torn open. Cursing himself for letting them roam the ship freely, he ran from control room and towards the sleeping quarters he had locked them in. He saw the door had been blown off. Swearing yet again, he tried to concentrate his new found sensing powers on them, but he was just too angry. So he ran around the hallways, until finally he found the hole. Gohan and Krillin were no where in sight. 

"Idiot!!!!!!!!!!! How could I have let them escape that easily!! I should have known better!! They'll pay for that." He powered up and zoomed up through the hole. Setting foot on the soft soil he looked around. There was a lake nearby, and many of the lollipop shaped trees, but still no Krillin or Gohan. 

"Son of a ----!" Vegeta turned and looked around, trying to sense for their ki's. He couldn't find them. "Damn it! If only I could get better at this! I'll find them! They can't be far!!"The arrogant Saiyan's aura flared up around him, and muttering every curse word in every language he knew, he took off towards the west. 

In the lake near where the ship had landed, ripples began to form. More and more appeared until finally, Gohan and Krillin burst to the surface, gasping for air and dripping wet. 

"I told you.."Gohan said, trying to catch his breath, "that was a good idea." Krillin nodded. They were out of hot water. For the time being, at least. 

************************************************************************************** 

A/N: So very sorry that I took so long getting this out! 


	9. Frigid Demon

Battle Lost   
  


Chapter nine   
  


Frigid Demon   
  


"One...two.uh....three.....four! Four dragon balls sir!!" The short little guard brought his hand to his forehead in salute. His pretentious leader, Frieza, laughed happily. 

"Perfect! This is working marvelously." He gazed at his new treasures with an evil glint in his eye. He looked like a kid in a candy store. To Frieza, those four golden spheres meant that he was more than halfway to gaining his wish....and immortality. He looked around. By his scouter he knew that there were many Nameks still in the snail like buildings of the village. Four already lay dead at the feet of his troops, having foolishly, in his eyes, attempted to protect their precious dragon ball. A lost cause I suppose, but who says slugs can think? Frieza thought to himself. 

"Didoria," He said calmly and quietly. Didoria turned to look at his master, his enormous shadow following his movements. "There's still a few Nameks in this village. Why don't you and the troops go have a little fun?" 

Didoria burst into a grin, licking his fat lips excitedly. He turned to a group of four other aliens and set down the two dragon balls he was holding. "Well come on men, you heard him!" A cheer went up from the group and the five of them went off, firing into buildings and sending the Nameks running. Occasionally, one of them would attempt to fight back, but none of them did any more damage then to leave a few scratches or burns. 

Zarbon kept his eyes focused on his scouter. He had no desire to watch the sickening display. The only one he wanted to see end up like the Nameks was Vegeta. From the time he was small, Zarbon had always been taught that you either joined Frieza or perished. He'd always had higher than average strength so when Frieza's troops had come to his home planet, when he was much younger, he had been one of the first to join Frieza's forces. For years and years he worked as hard as he could, going from a lower class soldier to finally working his way up to the "honor" or becoming Frieza's right hand man. It had taken years of sweat, blood, fighting, training, and good old fashioned "sucking up" to Frieza to get where he was, and that is why Zarbon hated Vegeta so much. 

When Frieza had joined forces with the Saiyans, Zarbon figured that all of them would be nothing more than planet cleaners, slaves basically who would do whatever Lord Frieza told them to. But it turned out that wasn't the case. Saiyan fighters began to appear who were challenging Zarbon's own strength. Fighters like Vegeta, who for his age was extremely powerful. Zarbon saw how Frieza began to favor Vegeta, so he tried even harder to stay on Frieza's good side. He knew that if Frieza ever lost use for him....then that was it. Death didn't seem too inviting for the blue skinned alien. 

Over the years Vegeta hadn't come close to Didoria, Zarbon, or especially Frieza's power. He'd always lagged. Until now......until he went to earth.....Subconsciously, Zarbon wondered what had happened on the insignificant planet that caused Vegeta's power to raise so drastically. And another thing that was beginning to irk the emerald haired warrior was that the two earthlings Vegeta had brought with him seemed to had vanished. Their power levels were undetectable on the scouter. 

"Hmm......" Zarbon hummed to himself. Frieza over heard him. 

"What is it, Zarbon?" Frieza asked, getting a tiny bit irritated with Zarbon's constant worrying about nothing. 

"Well sir, those two earthlings Vegeta brought with him.....They seem to have disappeared. I can't get a reading of them on the scouter, only of Vegeta's." 

"Oh well. Vegeta must have killed them," Frieza stated matter-of-factly. He smirked as the last Namek in the village fell limply from Didoria's massive arms. Didoria and the other men retreated back to Frieza, dusting off their hands. Humming happily to himself, Didoria picked up the two dragon balls. Zarbon shifted his two and tapped the button on the side of his scouter. It beeped rapidly before finally coming to a halt. 

"There's ten more Nameks, in the southern direction," He reported emotionlessly. 

"Excellent, lets hope they have the dragon ball, hmmm? In the mean time, keep your guard up. It seems that Vegeta is traveling alone now, so he'll probably be more apt to attack us. I understand he is also after my treasure." Everyone nodded in unison, and the group took off towards the village, dragon balls in tow. 

************************************************************************************** 

"Oh boy, I'm I ever HUNGRY!" Gohan's stomach growled loudly. Krillin winced. "I know, kiddo, but we got to keep going. I don't want to run into Vegeta." The two of them forced themselves to trudge up the steep hill. Gohan lagged slightly behind his older friend, tugging absently on his tail. 

"Sheesh....I wish we could just fly.....But I guess that would put out way too much energy, huh Kril-" He cut himself off short. There was a power on Namek, a huge one. Gohan couldn't believe he hadn't sensed it before. It was immense, he'd never felt anything like it before. And....it was dark. Everything about this energy said "evil." Gohan could almost smell it. And it was coming right for the two earth warriors. 

Frightened, Gohan looked at Krillin. Krillin had stopped as well, and was looking in the direction the ki was radiating from. 

"D-do you feel that? Krillin?" Gohan stammered. "There....there's lots of them!!!" He gasped, realizing that there were more powers; two of them stronger than Krillin and himself, but weaker than the main one; that were all grouped together. Krillin gulped. 

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure none of them are Vegeta!" He grabbed Gohan by the back of his uniform and began to haul him quickly up the hill. 

"We gotta hide, we're sitting ducks out here!!" Reaching the top of the cave, the twosome spotted a cave set in the bottom of a cliff. As fast as they could, they scurried into the alcove and kept to the side. 

"Do you..." Gohan breathed rapidly. "D-do you think they spotted us?" "Shhhh!" Krillin clamped his hand over Gohan's mouth, just as the group of kis zoomed past their hiding spot. They held their breath and stared out. Almost as soon as they had come, they humongous pack of energy were gone, towards the south. Krillin let go of Gohan. He couldn't believe what he'd just felt. 

"G-gohan...did you feel it? That guy near the front, the kind of funny looking one. He was......he was....." Krillin bent over, trying to regain the breath that the enormous ki had taken from him. Gohan was breathing hard as well, and was messing around with his tail, turning it over and over in his palm. It was a bad habit he'd picked up. 

"Yeah," Gohan replied, nodding. "It was over whelming. He's got to be a hundred times stronger than Vegeta." 

"Yeah, and did you see what they had with them?" Krillin asked, gritting his teeth and looking in the direction the group had gone. "Dragon balls, four of them. How are we ever going to get the dragon balls away from something that powerful?!!" Krillin straightened up and looked at Gohan. The little boy appeared to be concentrating on something. 

"Uh-oh," Gohan breathed. "They're headed right towards another group of power levels. They're weaker than us, and they aren't dark....they've gotta be the nameks!!" Krillin nodded. 

"Those goons have got to be going after them because they think they have the dragon balls. We should go check it out." Gohan nodded. 

"Right!" 

"Keep your power lowered as low as you can. We won't be able to fly, so just jump as far as you can without using ki. Got it?" 

"Yeah!" The two looked at each other, nodded, and started taking long jumps, from one area to the next. As soon as they landed, they pushed off again, leaping side by side and covering a great distance. Within twenty minutes, they were too near Frieza and his gang to continue this, so they came to a halt on the ground and slowly crept up a cliff. They laid flat on their stomachs and very cautiously peeked over the edge. 

Frieza, Zarbon, and Didoria stood in a triangle formation in front of four small houses. As the two warriors from earth watched, five Nameks, three older ones and two children, were shoved out from the middle house. The soldiers pushing them seemed to think their captive's fear was hilarious. 

They look just like Piccolo and Kami-sama, Krillin thought. They've got to be Namekians!! 

Gohan watched silently. One of the soldiers was smacking around one of the kids, the bigger one in a white robe. Gohan's fists tightened in anger and his power jumped a bit, causing Didoria's scouter to go off. Frieza's left hand man looked in Gohan's direction, and the two Z warriors, laid down flat, trying to hide their presence. Thinking it was nothing, Didoria shrugged it off and went back to facing the Nameks. Krillin and Gohan let out a silent sigh of relief. 

I remember Goku's brother saying something about a planet trade. Maybe these's guys are in on that. Krillin thought. He glanced at Gohan. The boy looked more and more angry with every laugh one of the soldiers gave or every time one of the Nameks shuddered with fear. Krillin hoped that Gohan would be able to keep his power down, for now at least. The human himself was beginning to grow even more enraged as the seconds ticked by. It seemed like forever before the assumed leader, the one with the very light pink skin and crushing power, spoke. 

"I am called Frieza," he said, his voice a deathly calm. "I'm collecting the things that you call dragon balls, as you can see." The older Nameks shifted their gaze from Frieza to the magic golden orbs Zarbon and Didoria had tucked under their arms. Two of them looked frightened as they saw them, but the third just seemed to grow even more angry. 

"Where are the others, by the way?" Frieza continued. "We noted there were ten of you." The Nameks said nothing. The elders kept their gaze hard while the children hung back, staying as much out of sight as possible. 

"Planning on remaining silent? Then I'm afraid we'll have to kill you." Upon Frieza saying this, the Nameks faltered briefly. Then the one who had looked angry said something in Namekian. Krillin and Gohan had no idea what he'd said. The only time Krillin had ever heard Namekian was when Kami or Piccolo was speaking it. Apparently, Frieza didn't know Namekian either. 

"Please speak in a tongue we understand, not Namek. We know you can speak our language." 

The elder Namek hesitated. Then: "The others went out to work in the fields. The only ones here are the children and the elders." 

Frieza smiled almost pleasantly, for him anyway. "There, that wasn't so hard was it? As long as you cooperate you will not be harmed. What I wish to know is where the dragon ball is. I know there's one here." 

"I don't know what you're talking about. We don't have anything like that," The elder replied. Gohan noticed the smallest Namek child was crying. The older one was tying difficultly to console him. Frieza took notice of them, and laughed. 

"Oh now, don't cry. Just tell us what we want to know. You know what a 'dragon ball' is kid?" The little Namek just stared at Frieza and tried his hardest to back away. Unfortunately, the soldiers in the back forced him to stay where he was. 

"Kids these days. No manners at all. Well, the first group of Nameks we ran into told us the exact same thing, claimed they didn't know what a dragon ball was. Until we killed one of their number, as a lesson. Then it was handed over easily, as well as these three others." 

The elders stared in disbelief. Then one of them spoke out quickly. "Liar!! You must have killed them too! They would never hand over a dragon ball to the likes of you!!" Frieza laughed. 

"No really. They were more than happy to hand them over once we did this. Zarbon, demonstrate, please." Zarbon managed to smirk confidently. 

"Yes sir." Then he moved so fast that Krillin and Gohan could just barely see him. Zarbon flipped over the group of Nameks, and planted a swift kick to the neck of the Namek who had called Frieza a liar, causing a sickening cracking sound. Upon seeing his comrade fall, the Namek who hadn't spoken yet finally did so. 

"Monster!" He powered up an energy blast and fired at the blue skinned alien. Zarbon leapt up, causing the blast to hit one of Frieza's soldiers, charring the alien. Not finished yet, Zarbon tossed one of the dragon balls up in the air and used his free hand to give the Namek a huge blast. His job done for the moment, Zarbon landed back on the ground and caught the dragon ball, a second before the Namek's body hit the ground. 

The Namekian children gasped, and the older child made a sick gagging sound, trying not to throw up. The elder looked enraged. Then suddenly, the scouters blipped again, but this time it wasn't from Krillin or Gohan. Coming in quickly was a group of five adult Nameks. They landed beside their brothers and looked quickly from Frieza and his crew to the corpses on the ground. A look of anger came over their faces. 

"So its you! You are the one who did this!" One of them accused. Frieza didn't give any sign that he had heard the usually peaceful alien. The remaining elder Namek seemed to be a bit relieved, now that his warriors had returned from the fields. But Krillin and Gohan could tell that the warrior-Nameks were no where near as powerful as Frieza and his men. They were forced to watch in horror as a very one sided battle ensued. 

The Namekian warriors launched themselves in attack at Frieza's guards. They managed to take out two before Didoria jumped in. As Didora began his slaughter, the elder Namek turned to his children. 

"Go children, get away from here!!" The littlest one didn't move, he just sat there crying. The elder boy pulled his younger brother's sleeve, and finally the two of them tried to run away. 

The old Namek then leapt into the air and began firing, at Frieza, at Zarbon, at Didoria, and at the guards who were there, dead or alive. His attacks weren't aimed at Frieza or anyone else, it turned out, but at the scouters. Every shot found its mark, destroying the devices on impact. Krillin almost laughed out loud. 

What a genius! Destroying the scouters so they can't find anymore villages! 

The elder landed and looked around. The children hadn't gotten very far; apparently the little one refused to leave and was stubbornly sitting on the ground with tears streaming down his little cheeks. The rest of the warriors were now dead, killed by the barbaric cretins. Frieza was now furious, having lost three of his own men. 

"Show us where the dragon ball is or your children will die!" As if to prove his point, Didoria positioned himself several feet from the little boys, his dragon balls laying forgotten near Frieza. Gohan clenched his fists in anger, his power raising. Krillin fought to keep himself under control as well as detain his younger friend. The elder balled his hands into fists and then relaxed them in defeat. Slowly, he made his way to one of the snail houses and returned a moment later with yet another glowing dragon ball. 

No! That Frieza can't get the dragon balls! Gohan thought angrily. I need to wish Piccolo-san and Daddy back!!! 

I've got to do something, Krillin said to himself. Goku, Yamcha, Tien.....they're counting on us!! 

With an angry look on his face the elder handed the dragon ball over. Frieza laughed wickedly. 

"Thank you. Now kindly tell us the location of the other dragon balls since you did us the favor of destroying our expensive scouters." The elder's eyes flashed angrily. 

"No! I refuse!!" he cried defiantly. A faint smirk appeared on Frieza's face. He lifted his left hand listlessly, one finger pulsing with light. 

"Very well then," he hissed. A tiny red beam shot out, missing the elder by a fraction of an inch. Gohan and Krillin craned their necks forward to get a better look, and saw as the beam hit its intended target: the youngest Namekian child. The older one screamed in fear and sadness as his little brother fell, never to rise again. 

"No!!!!!Cargo!!!" The elder yelled as loudly as he could. 

"Dende, get out of here now!" No sooner were the words out of his mouth then another beam was shot, piercing him through the heart and sending him crashing into one of the houses. Gohan jerked up, but Krillin pulled him down. Frieza lowered his smoking hand. 

"No....how could they.....how could they......." Gohan's power raised higher and higher. Didoria leered over the remaining frightened child. 

"Hey kid, you know what death is?" Didoria raised his hand as it began to glow with ki. The child squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting the blow. 

"STOP IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gohan leapt up, anger blazing in his eyes. Zarbon and Frieza immediately looked in the direction of the Z warriors. Gohan took off from the cliff, speeding for Didoria. He planted a kick into Didoria's massive gut, propelling the alien into another house. 

"How can you kill children you heartless bastard!?!" Gohan screamed. Dende looked at Gohan, not sure if he should be relieved or even more frightened. Didoria began to pick himself up, but no sooner had he gotten to his feet than he was sent down again, this time by a kick to the head from Krillin. 

"Gohan, lets get out of here!" He commanded. Krillin grabbed the Namek boy and his ki flared up around him. Him and Gohan sped off up into the air and were soon out of sight. Zarbon stared after them. 

"I guess Vegeta didn't kill them after all," Zarbon muttered to himself. 

"Didoria!" Frieza barked. "Get your lazy ass up and go get them now!!" Didoria forced himself up and then flew off after the warriors from earth. Frieza fumed. 

"He'd better hurry up." Zarbon gave his master and almost cynical look. 

"Sire, maybe I'd better go with him. Those two may give him some trouble," he said quietly. 

"No Zarbon. Didoria will do just fine. Those little Earth-Saiyans shouldn't be a problem. We couldn't even detect them on the scouter." 

"If I'm permitted to say, sire, I believe they can hide their true power. They've varied it several times since I've been watching them." Frieza shot Zarbon a glare. 

"Do not contradict me, unless you wish to end up like our Namek friends. Now lets go find the other villages. You're getting to be almost like Vegeta." Those last words stung Zarbon. He gulped and nodded. 

"Yes sire..." 

************************************************************************************** 

"You had better run you little brats!! When I catch you I'm going to rip you apart!" Didoria shouted. He glared at the two speeding figures in front of him. Gohan was in the lead while Krillin was lagging back a bit, with Dende clinging to the human's gi for dear life. 

"Damn it.....damn it......damn it....damn it......" Krillin repeated over and over again. " Speed up Gohan or he'll catch us!!" Gohan didn't say anything in response, he just increased his speed. Didoria laughed again. 

"Run as much as you want; it'll make it that much more fun when I catch you!" Krillin and his passenger ignored Didoria's utterances and attempted to keep up with Gohan. Krillin gasped in fear as he heard the sound of ki being gathered, but didn't dare turn around to see what was going on. Within seconds blasts began firing at them from Didoria's massive hands. Gohan and Krillin swerved this way and that trying to avoid being hit by the energy, but one of the attacks grazed Krillin on his side, causing him to cry out and loosen his grip on the Namkian child. 

Realizing his error, Krillin brushed off his own pain and shot down after the boy, who was unconscious, either from the blast or from fear. Krillin had almost reached him when he was grabbed by the ankle from behind. The human fighter glanced back briefly, and stretched his arm out in a fruitless attempt to grab Dende. He watched with relief as he saw Gohan sweep down and catch Dende, and then try to wake him up. 

Didoria's cold laughter reminded Krillin of the trouble he himself was in. He started swinging around trying to get free, muttering swear words to himself, and then finally swung back and head-butted Didoria in the face. Didoria swore and let go, covering his face. Krillin motioned for Gohan to hurry up and go. 

"I'll distract him. You get out of here kid!" Gohan nodded. 

"Right." Pulling Dende along, Gohan shot off to the left. Krillin sped forward, and of course Didoria followed him, now more angry than before. 

"Yeah ugly, you just watch this," Krillin mumbled to himself. Still flying quickly, he turned in the air and put his hands to the side of his face. Didoria payed no attention. 

"Tsyoken!" Krillin cried, squeezing his eyes shut. A light the magnitude of the sun flashed out and lit up the sky. Didoria stupidly looked into it. He covered his eyes and began howling in anger and pain. Krillin quickly flew off after Gohan and found both the demi-Saiyan and the Namek boy, Dende, on the ground crouching behind a small rock. Krillin landed and went to hide with them. 

Soon, the affects of Tenshinhan's technique wore off and the light faded away. Within a few more minutes, Didoria had his eyesight back. He yelled angrily. 

"Damn it to hell!!!! Where did they go now?!" Furiously he looked around, scanning his eyes over the landscape while flying at the same time. On the ground Krillin, Gohan, and Dende held their breath. 

"Come on, where the-" Didoria didn't finish his sentence. His lips curled into a smile as his eyes found their prey. "There you are!" 

"Damn it!" Krillin cried. Gohan and Dende leapt up and back. Didoria laughed contentedly, but from out of no where there was a low whistling sound and a decent sized blast came barreling at the pink ogre, striking him and knocking him out of the sky. 

Krillin, Gohan, and Dende looked up to see who had done it. Don't be Vegeta.....don't be Vegeta.....Krillin pleaded silently. Finally, they saw their momentary rescuer: A familiar looking Namek was hovering in the air near them with his hand extended. His long outer robe flapped dramatically in the breeze, and his face was set in stone. His clothes were different but other than that he looked a lot like...... 

"P..P-Piccolo?!" Gohan cried in disbelief. Dende looked at the Namek with a look of recognition. He shook his head briskly at Gohan's outburst and broke into a smile. 

"Nail!!" 


	10. All good things must come to an end....

All Good Things Must Come To An End.....   
  


For me anyways! I'm very sad to say that I can no longer continue this fic. I've hit a dead end with it, and can't seem to put into words what I want to go on in it. However, I don't want this to be another lost story. So, I'm looking for someone who would like to continue this as their own. If anyone is interested, please e-mail me at silent_juuhachigou@yahoo.com. So, farewell Battle Lost from Juu. Its on to other fics for me! Hopefully, someone with more patience will be able to turn this fic into something great!   
  


~Juu 


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